I am just completing the process of removing my liner which was not fully mortared in place, just in places, 25' tall. The mortar was completely against the back of the tiles and once I removed the tiles I basically had another tube of mortar the entire length. I spent half of my time trying to figure out how to get it out. I tried the rotary tile breakers, both the offset plate and the one with weights flinging around. They basically did nothing but shook the house and me. I eventually went the route of grinders on rods. I am on my third angle grinder because of the dust. For those that have done this I am sure I did 100 things wrong but it was a constant rethinking and trying new things to make it work. Take what you want from this but here are a few things I have learned.
- I thought it would be fun, the top two tiles were terracotta, they broke apart with the rotary tool. Hope was up, that was the first 4 feet. The next section was a different color and I realized that the rotary tool was not breaking the tile so I cut a large section out. I believe it was the same tile used by the Space Shuttle program to protect the shuttle during reentry. I pulled it out and slammed on my concrete floor in frustration. It just bounced off, didn't break, didn't crack. That was when I realized the spinning tool would not work and I had 21 more feet to go.
- Buy the cheap angle grinders. You are probably going to destroy them. The national discount tool outlet ones work. As long as they spin and they have a trigger lock you should be good to go.
- Buy decent blades that work dry unless you plan to run water down your chimney. The segmented blades from the previously mentioned national discount tool outlet worked very well.
- Create a way to exhaust the dust out of the other end of the chimney. I had a larger blower fan with a flex duct attached to suck the dust out. If not, you will be waiting most of the time for the dust to settle.
- Don't laugh, but for rods I took apart a cheap bed metal bed frame, drilled holes and bolted them together. It was destined for the scrap yard anyway. By the time I got 25' down with a grinder on it the assembly was heavy but doable. The added bonus was that I could take the grinder off and use the ends to pry the flue away. I tried all thread but the torque from the angle grinder made it very difficult to control.
- Buy a lot of zip ties. I tried to bolt the angle grinder to the rod through the handle mounts but the metal in even the expensive angle grinder was relative soft and wore out quickly. I ended up zip tying it to the rod.
- I had a power strip next to the top of the chimney and I would plug the extension cord into the angle grinder, lock the trigger, and use the power switch to turn it on and off.
- After I cut 3-4 vertical grooves per a side I could pry them away or use the rotary tool. Sometime I had to still hammer away at them to get them to come loose.
- It is easier at night with a light at both ends as it becomes difficult to see in bright daylight. I had a metal hazard light, after one tile fell on it it looked like the coyote after the road runner dropped a boulder on him. I used a cheap lamp with a LED bulb. It held up surprisingly well even after a few hits.
- Wear eye protection! It is amazing what can fly 20 feet up a narrow passage.
- It is a long and painful process, especially when you are doing it for the first time. Pick out some good music and hope yours goes much easier!
